The activity, which runs for about an hour, takes on the form of a simulated chat room where a child, unbeknownst to him or her, is engaged in conversation with a pedophile who ultimately tries to lure them from their home and to meet them in person. It is at this stage the child is then put in immediate danger.

On Wednesday, to mark National Child Protection Week, over 500 students from 19 schools joined the chatroom, the first time it has been coordinated nationally. The activity was managed by a group of Internet safety experts, and the AFP, who delivered clues and responded to the students' questions throughout the exercise.

ACMA's Sharon Trotter said its role is to raise awareness of Internet safety issues. "We know this is a very good learning tool for kids," she said, as it teaches kids they need to stay in control over the activities on the Internet. 'It is more about contact issues. It is about people who just don't want to be friends," she added.

Because Cybersmart Detectives is designed to be run in conjunction with ACMA and law enforcement officials, whether it is the AFP or state police services, the activity cannot be run independently by schools.

Trotter said the next activity was expected to run in the next couple of months as a number of schools were already interested.